How Oral-Care Probiotics Can Improve Children’s Overall Health This School Year
Back-to-school means photos of kids smiling widely as they begin a new grade. To keep those smiles bright, make sure back-to-school preparations include your child’s oral and dental health. Establishing good oral hygiene habits now can help kids avoid missing school for dentist appointments, improve their overall health, and even boost their self-esteem.
“Back-to-school is a great time to establish healthy habits and routines that can reduce school days missed and last a lifetime,” says Dr. Sarah Poteet, a dentist and owner of Dallas Functional Dentistry in Dallas, Texas. Cavities among young children are on the rise, she points out in a recent interview.
“We have an epidemic of kids with cavities in the U.S, causing too many kids pain and missed school days, as well as compromising their oral health,” Dr. Poteet says. “According to the CDC, more than half (52%) of children have experienced a cavity by age 8.”
The Healthy Schools Campaign reports that children ages 5 to 17 miss nearly two million school days per year because of dental health issues, including 30% of kids age 6 to 12. Parents can’t foresee every school year disruption, but being proactive about oral health can mean one less worry.
A healthy mouth supports better overall health, too. Research shows that bad bacteria in the mouth can gradually affect kidneys, lungs, the heart and even brain development. “Poor oral health doesn’t just impact your kid’s mouth, it affects their whole body,” says Dr. Poteet.
Finally, worrying about bad breath can make the back-to-school transition tougher. Halitosis – often caused by poor oral health – can put a damper on fun social interactions, affect the child’s self esteem, and even lead to a change in speech patterns – and fewer smiles.
Oral-Care ProBiotics: The One Step Parents Can Take
“At home, brushing and flossing twice a day are important steps in a good daily oral-care routine,” says Dr. Poteet. “Many kids are not very adept at brushing, so monitoring your kids brushing as much as possible also is helpful. But brushing and flossing is only half the battle.”
For a truly healthy mouth, Dr. Poteet says, it’s essential to also support good bacteria that is native to the mouth using oral-care probiotics. Oral-care probiotics work the same as those that promote and repopulate good bacteria in the gut.
“That’s why I recommend adding ProBiora probiotics for the mouth to both kids and adults daily oral-care routine. ProBiora is the original oral-care probiotic that is backed by more than 30 years of clinical research.”
ProBioraKids is specially formulated for children and comes in an orange creamsicle flavor kids love. It’s easy to use, too. Simply dissolve or chew one or more ProBiora at bedtime after brushing and flossing. It’s gluten-free and sugar-free with no artificial colors or flavors.
Brush. Floss. ProBioraKids. With one easy step, parents optimize their kids’, and their own oral-care routine. Find more information at www.probiorahealth.com/kids. ProBiora Health’s full line of oral-care probiotics can be purchased at www.probiorahealth.com or Amazon. Take 10% off your order with the promo code ATLANTA22.
